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. 2015 Sep 7;117(5):781–794. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcv134

Table 1.

A sample of large genera from the animal, fungal and plant kingdoms

Genus Taxonomic position Number of species described1
Mollusca
Conus Gastropoda: Conidae   6542
Arthropoda Hexapoda
Stenus Coleoptera: Staphylinidae Approx. 25003
Tipula Diptera: Tipulidae 2263
Lasioglossum Hymenoptera: Halictidae 1725
Cryptocephalus Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae   1700+4
Onthophagus Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae 1672
Otiorrhynchus Coleoptera: Curculionidae 1672
Megaselia Diptera: Phoridae 1559
Drosophila Diptera: Drosophilidae 1529
Andrena Hymenoptera: Andrenidae 1495
Anomala Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae 1229
Culicoides Diptera: Ceratopogonidae 1228
Eupithecia Lepidoptera: Geometridae 1171
Opius Hymenoptera: Braconidae 1088
Apanteles Hymenoptera: Braconidae 995
Coleophora Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae 990
Vertebrata
Anolis ‘Reptilia’ Squamata: Dactyloidae 392
Haplochromis Osteichthyes: Cichlidae 229
Eleutherodactylus Amphibia: Eleutherodactylidae 186
Fungi
Cortinarius Basidiomycota: Cortinariaceae 2745
Magnoliopsida
Astragalus Fabaceae   26825
Euphorbia Euphorbiaceae   21506
Carex Cyperaceae 2043
Piper Piperaceae 1950
Bulbophyllum Orchidaceae 1880
Psychotria Rubiaceae 1856
Begonia Begoniaceae 1605
Senecio Asteraceae 1599
Solanum Solanaceae   15657
Dendrobium Orchidaceae 1527
Acacia Fabaceae 1434
Croton Euphorbiaceae 1183
Miconia Melastomataceae 1163
Rhododendron Ericaceae 1135
Peperomia Piperaceae 1350

1According to the Catalogue of Life, if not specified otherwise.

2Probably the largest genus of marine invertebrates (Kohn, 1991).

3Puthz (2008, 2010).

5Other estimates: 3030 species (Frodin, 2004), 3270 species (Govaerts, 1995).

7solanaceaesource.org (accessed 4 April 2015).